Various types of personal emergency communication devices had been developed which allow a person in need of immediate medical attention or other emergency service to contact an emergency service provider. In some cases, the user is required to subscribe to a proprietary communication system in which the service provider collects a monthly fee. These private systems typically rely on radio frequency communication between a portable communication unit worn or attached to the user, and a base station monitored by the service provider.
Numerous other forms of communication links have been employed to connect a remote subscriber with a monitoring station for emergency communications. Such links include telephone lines, cable television transmission lines, or dedicated land lines. Many recently developed systems utilize public telephone lines because they are widely available and require minimal installation expense.
User-carried portable communication units are available in a variety of forms, including those that are automatically activated by an emergency event and those that are manually activated by a user in the event of an emergency. In the case of portable units capable of establishing a communication link with an emergency response center, such as a 911 center, most prior systems, while capable of dialing a 911 number, are restricted in their ability to place the user in direct, two way voice communication with the 911 operator. Moreover, existing personal communication systems capable of remotely dialing a 911 operator require the user to use keypads or manipulate a number of buttons or switches on a portable communications unit in order to place the call. A problem exists with these prior systems, in that the user may be substantially incapacitated by the medical condition which gives rise to the emergency call, thereby diminishing the user's ability to complete the steps that are necessary to place the call. This problem is particularly prevalent with elderly users having limited manual dexterity or diminished vision.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a personal communication system which overcomes each of the disadvantages of the prior art discussed above, and which is both simple to use and inexpensive to construct. The present invention is directed toward satisfying this need.